Arne Slot responds to Mohamed Salah's cryptic message about his Liverpool future - and calls on the Egyptian to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Arne Slot has laughed off suggestions that Mohamed Salah posted a cryptic message about his Liverpool future on social media on Sunday – and said the Egyptian should aim to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for longevity at an elite level.

Salah scored the winner in a comeback win over Brighton on Saturday and posted on X the following afternoon with a note that read: 'No matter what happens, I will never forget what scoring at Anfield feels like.'

Some fans took that as a hint that he could be leaving this summer, with the 32-year-old's contract set to run out at the end of the current season as it stands. It is the second time he has publicly discussed his future after previously saying this was his 'last season at the club'.

While it is fair to say Salah's future is up in the air, there have been no suggestions that he is definitely departing. And Slot said: 'You interpret (the post) in a way maybe other people don't. I don't look at Instagram posts from my players, I only talk to them which is the advantage I have.

'Mo is in a very good place at the moment, as long as he has been at Liverpool he has been in a good place. I am hoping he will post one after tomorrow and Saturday again. It is important how he plays and what he says in conversations and not how you guys interpret his posts.

'I haven't spoken (to Salah) about it, we've spoken about (tomorrow's opponents) Bayer Leverkusen as that team deserves all our attention with the quality they have. He is out of contract at the end of the season.

'This (debate) will probably continue until their futures are clear. For the meantime, let's hope he continues with the performances he had at the weekend and previous weeks.'

Salah is showing no signs of slowing down now he is 32 and has been on stellar form under Slot this season after a below-par second half of the last campaign under Jurgen Klopp, which culminated in the pair having multiple public spats.

And Slot said: 'There is no reason to think that he is dropping in terms of level. That's not what you see with his numbers or what you see when he plays. I cannot tell you what the future will look like.

'Ronaldo, what age is he at the moment? Messi is still incredible... incredible. But there are also players like me who weren't as good any more at 33, not that I was that good at 26! But I regressed worse than Ronaldo and Messi.

'I don't know what the future brings but I do know Mo is in a very good place at the moment.'

Liverpool have been handed a fitness boost as Ibrahima Konate will be OK to play against Leverkusen after suffering a wrist injury on Saturday. The French defender feared he had broken a bone but scans revealed just tissue damage and he is fit to play tomorrow.